In this episode, Christian Szurko of the DialogCentre UK joins hosts Pearse Redmond and Jon Atack to discuss his work counseling people who have become involved in extremist or authoritarian groups. Christian explains how he first got involved in this field of work, and they talk about how this process works from the initial first meeting all the way through to recovery. Christian and Jon both discuss the dangers of “deprograming” and the positive alternatives that are out there. They also touch on the psychological effects that leaving an extremist or authoritarian group can have on an individual.
Join hosts Pearse Redmond and Jon Atack as they discuss the concept of awe and its manipulative power with Yuval Laor. They talk about the psychological effect awe can have on an individual, and explore how this can be exploited by cult groups and toxic individuals in order to gain control. Yuval and Jon also discuss how all of us can be susceptible to the manipulation of our natural sense of awe, and the importance of cultivating healthy awe experiences in our life.
This week I am joined by Yuval Laor of the Open Minds Foundation, and one of my co-hosts for Open Minds On Air. We discuss the neoconservative movement, the exploitation of trauma, and Israel. Yuval and I start off the conversation with the breaking news that Donald Trump has decided to pull the US out the Iran Nuclear Deal. We talk about what this means for America and the prospect of war with Iran. Yuval gives us his perspective of this as an Israeli-American, and how the public within Israel is reacting to the news. Yuval and I then shift into the neocons who are obviously happy with Trump’s latest pronouncement. We look at their belief system and the psychology of the movement by using Israel as a template. Yuval talks about the continual use and exploitation of the holocaust and the trauma of it with in Israel. He discusses how this has manipulated Israeli society on a psychological level to the point where they view the Holocaust as constantly being right around the corner. We talk about the way that the Israeli state continually traumatizes its youth with regards to the Holocaust. Yuval and I then break down how this is the same method by which the neocons have sought to manipulate people here in the United States.
Later Yuval and I talk about the power of awe and fervor. Again using Israel as an example we talk about “Jerusalem Syndrome” and how it works on people who are not even religious. Yuval talks about John Kerry’s awe moment at Masada as well. We then shift into high fervor people and their inability to view the world outside of a good vs. evil black and white mentality. Yuval explains how the neocons have psychologically fallen into this mindset, and the ways in which it has effected their views on foreign policy. We also address whether neoconservationism is a cult group or a secret society. We also touch on Trump’s psychology and why he is so susceptible to manipulation, particularly by the neocons. Yuval also discusses the concept of a thought-terminating cliché. Yuval then closes out the episode with a very appropriate joke.
We are delighted to announce the first episode of Open Minds On Air. This is the official podcast of the Open Minds Foundation, hosted by Pearse Redmond, Jon Atack, and Yuval Laor.
In this episode, we introduce ourselves and give a little background on what the Open Minds Foundation is working on. We discuss the ever-present threat of the human predator, and how they infect our lives. Also, Jon and Yuval explain the methods and techniques of human predators. They talk about the tactics that these predators employ to gain control over an individual or group. We end the conversation by talking about ways individuals can combat this behavior.
